Simon says: "Pull your socks up Jersey!"

Wednesday 01 October 2014

A man with dyslexia who was written off by his headmaster but went on to become an award winning businessman is coming to Jersey tomorrow to help improve dozens of local businesses.

Simon Chaplin runs a number of workshops across the country helping people get more out of their business and encourages them to think outside nine to five.

Simon said: "I was not academically gifted, dyslexic but I stumbled into the accountancy profession and found I was actually quite good at it."

Simon became one of the youngest people in the UK to hold both an accounting and tax qualification at 27 but became so stressed working 80 hour weeks, he felt he was on a short road to a heart attack. So he started work on developing a business that could run without the need for him nor his team to be in the office all the time.

Simon now goes into the office one day a week and spends two days a week helping other businesses to overcome problems with sales and problems with staff. It's changed his life and he now gets to take 13 weeks holiday a year.

Simon said: "I've said to my team that I don't care when or where they work as long as the work gets done. The office is open but I don't know who is in the office and who isn't. I'm paying them a salary and as long as they achieve certain results I don't care where they do it.

"It makes common sense to me - if you think about it the majority of people still work 9 til 5 and have a dinner hour 1 til 2, it pre-dates back to when we used to work in factories so that staff could go and wash their hands and have their dinner."

Simon's business model might be unusual but it's certainly working for him. He said: "I was 15 stone 6, I'm now 12 10 - i've still got a way to go, I haven't smoked for 3 years, I'm currently well below my 21 units of alcohol that I'm allowed!  I have a wife I didn't have, I have a baby boy and I have another one on the way and I only go into the office one day a week."

He might not be in the office much but he says he puts a lot of effort into communication and online communication systems and he's keen to reward his staff for their hard work. Rather than giving them financial bonuses he spends time thinking about what each member of his team would appreciate most.

One member of his team was treated to a day out to stroke the tigers at the Zoo for her efforts in the office and Simon has other treats up his sleeve. 

Simon said: "David loves Leicester Tigers and he would love to go into the hospitality suite and I know Jade wants a pair of Jimmy Choos - I'm conscious of that but she's got some exams in June next year and if she gets those exams she might get the shoes she wants."

Next month he'll have balloons around the office - if a member of his team does something successfully they get to pop a balloon to try to get one of the golden tickets he'll hide inside some of them - the most golden tickets wins a prize.

He might have an unusual work ethic but it certainly seems to be working for his staff - Simon has won an "Investors in People" Gold and "Employer of the Year".

Simon hopes his visit next month will help people in Jersey to come up with a vision for their business and boundaries for the team to work within in order to reach their targets and get results.

"The whole concept is how to get your business to work brilliantly even when you're not there, it's very scary but it's liberating."

Simon's presentation is at Jersey Museum on Thursday 2 October.

You can find out more about Simon on his website www.socksupsimon.com